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Dad’s fingers curl into a fist at his provocative remark, but Ayaan seems unfazed, revelling in his ability to goad us.
“I’m being nice enough. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind showing you to the door for acting like you own us,” I shoot back, my voice tense with irritation.
“Getting feisty, aren’t you, baby?”
Baby!!He just called me Baby before my father? My cheeks flush with both embarrassment and frustration. This situation is rapidly spiralling out of control, and I still have no idea why Ayaan has come here or how to handle him. Ayaan doesn’t know that I’ve given a different picture to Dad about us. He doesn’t know that I lied to Dad, saying I never had feelings for him. Though Dad has never broached that subject again, I don’t want Ayaan’s sudden appearance today to trigger that topic.
Ayaan then gets up from his seat and strolls around the living area as if admiring this place. He stops at the family photo on the centre wall and picks up a frame with a picture of me as a teenager.
“Always so beautiful,” he murmurs, caressing the photograph with his fingers.
That finally pushes Dad over the edge. He rises, his voice trembling with anger. “Enough of this drama.”
I get up, too, as he continues to vent his frustration on me.
“This is all happening because ofyou,” Dad snaps, his voice laced with disappointment and anger. “You gave him this liberty, Meher, to come to our house and talk to us in this lordly manner and threaten us. This is allyourfault.”
His words hit me like a tsunami, and I’m at a loss for what to say. My mind races as I try to find the right words to defend myself.
“Don’t lie to me now. I know you love him,” Dad declares, and my breath catches in my throat. “You lied to me the other night after returning from Dalhousie that you don’t have any feelings for Ayaan, didn’t you?”
Dad’s words cut through the tense atmosphere like a sharp knife, and I feel exposed, as though my deepest secrets have been laid bare.
“I knew it all along,” he continues, his voice laced with disappointment. “They say a shrewd politician can hear the truth even in the silence of deceit. And I’m your father. How could I not know? Did you really think I bought your silly explanation and excuses that you spouted to protect him from my wrath?”
Goosebumps erupt on my skin, knowing Dad was aware all this time that I loved Ayaan. I can’t find the words to respond as my voice is caught in my throat. Yes, I’d lied to Dad about my feelings for Ayaan, but that was only to ensure he didn’t harm him. I had no other way to protect the man I love from my father’s fury. I’m stunned that Dad saw through my lies yet never confronted me about it. He now turns to Ayaan, who is curiously witnessing this revelation from afar.
“Had Ayaan not accused me in the media that night for Kailash’s accident, I would have shown him what it meant to touch my daughter.”
Ayaan claps, taking slow steps towards us again, the sound reverberating in the silence. The grin on his face has just got bigger.
“Wow! Meher, I must say your Dad is the perfect candidate for the world’s ‘Best Father’ award for putting his own ego ahead of his daughter’s happiness,” he taunts.
I glare at him, his antics making my blood boil.
“If my ego is petty, so is yours,” Dad retorts, “for not being man enough to support his woman standing with her family in tough times.”
“Your tough times are yet to come, Mr. Pratap Walia,” Ayaan challenges, looking him in the eye. “And your time is running out. If not for my father, I would never consider doing any favours for you. You better decide fast. The proposal won’t last for long.”
Dad is about to retaliate, but my curiosity gets the better of me.
“What proposal?” I scowl at Ayaan.
“Our marriage proposal,” Ayaan replies coolly as though he’s discussing the weather.
“What? You brought a marriage proposal for me?” I ask, my voice tinged with confusion.
“Why not?” he shrugs. “The next step of a love affair is marriage, Meher Walia. What’s so shocking about that?”
Ayaan takes a deep breath, his eyes never leaving mine.
Has he lost his mind? His audacity infuriates me. Ayaan is so sure of himself. He seems to enjoy the havoc he has created, the look of shock on my face and the tension in the room. I can’t understand why he would come here with such a bold proposal, knowing Dad wouldn’t agree to it. Ayaan knows very well that Dad would never entertain such a notion, especially when it comes from the man he hates so much.
“Didn’t I say that it’s over between us?” I repeat, trying to regain some semblance of control over the situation.
Ayaan’s voice softens, his eyes boring into mine.
“And didn’t I tell you, once we get into a love affair, there’s no turning back?” he questions. “Even if you tried to retreat, I would never let you go. Because when Ayaan Shergill loves, it is for eternity.”
